Nobody
by Chaetura
Summary: [Axel x Fem!Reader] "Undercover mission in the organization XIII takes an unexpected turn when you find yourself getting close with one of the members. Seems like nobodies aren't just empty shells after all?" This is my second fanfic story, I hope you enjoy :D Feedback is appreciated! And again, please forgive me my poor english :'3
1. Chapter 1 - Darkness

[f/n] = First name [l/n] = Last name [h/c] = Hair color [h/l] = Hair length [e/c] = Eye color [f/c] = Favorite color

* * *

" _Where am I?"_

Pitch black darkness. First it felt like you had lost your sight, but the fact you could see your hands and feet proved otherwise. Your heart was beating so hard it was about to jump out from your chest. There was nothing. Simply nothing but deep darkness all around you. The silence was overwhelming, all you could hear was beating of your heart and the blood running in your veins.

"Where am I?!" You screamed into the pitch black void.

No answer. No echo. Nothing. Knees weak, you fell down. Tears filling your eyes, squeezing your head with your hands you tried to collect your thoughts. What the hell was going on? What was this place? How did you end up here? Everything was just too messed up.

"...Dyri?" Your friend's name escaped your lips. "Katla?"

Where were they? They had been with you when this all happened. Everything was coming back to you- Sky went dark, those strange creatures everywhere… You tried to run, ground disappeared under your feet and you all fell down into the darkness. But now you were alone. Looking around once more, you tried to find your friends. Nothing. You were all alone, lost and scared. Nothing else but darkness all around you. There wasn't a way out.

"Fuck that." You hissed under your breath, standing back up. "There's no way I'm giving up this easily."

What there was to be afraid of anyways? You were in this nothingness by yourself. You weren't a kid who was scared of the dark! There had to be a way out, you just needed to find it. So you began walking. Direction didn't matter, you just had to keep walking. Eventually, you had to end up in somewhere, right? …Right?

* * *

"Hey." Someone was calling you. A man's voice.

" _Who's that..? Dyri..?"_

"Hey, are you OK?" He repeated.

Finally you were able to force your eyes open. Darkness was gone, you were laying on the ground leaning against a brick wall. Rubbing your eyes, you tried to get a hold of yourself- What the hell was going on? You seemed to be fine, but your whole body was aching like you had been beaten up. Overall, you felt like crap. Glancing around your surroundings, you tried to figure out where you were. Place didn't seem familiar, neither the man kneeling before you. He was wearing a black coat, hood covering his face.

"Where… Where am I?" You flustered, looking around. Your surroundings seemed like a back alley of a town.

"Did your world disappear?" Mystery man asked. "This is Traverse Town, those who lost their world usually drop in here."

"Disappear..? I… I'm sorry, I don't remember…" You stuttered, trying to figure out what was happening. Was that darkness just a dream?

"Come on, we should get you out of here." He continued, standing up and offering his hand to help you up. "Can you stand up? It's dangerous for a keyblade wielder to lay here unconcious."

"Keyblade… What?" You frowned. You had no idea who this guy was or what he was talking about, not mentioning about where you were and what had happened. Only when you were about to get up, you noticed that you were holding something in your hand.

"Huh? What's this?" You looked at the big key like object. Just after you lifted it up to take a closer look, it disappeared into thin air. Was that the keyblade he was talking about? You had never seen it before, where did you got it? You had no time to think about it- Hooded man suddenly pulled you up, looking around cautiously.

"They are coming…" He mumbled. "We need to go. Don't be afraid, I promise to answer your questions when we are safe."

He lifted his hand and a black portal opened before you. This only was convincing enough that the darkness wasn't a dream- And you were about to go right back into it. Before you could protest, he tugged you through the portal with him. Darkness surrounded you only for a second, next thing you knew was the grass under your feet. Cautiously looking up, you saw a little bit crooked, golden-brown tower in front of you. Casting your eyes around the place, you noticed that you were on a tiny, floating island, nothing much on it except the tower and couple trees. Black coated man had already made his way to the tower, gesturing you to follow him before disappearing inside the building.

You quickly paced after him, still confused about everything what was happening. You wanted answers, and he had promised to give them. When you had made your way to the door, grabbing on the handle, you halted- That mystery man was talking with someone.

"...When I saw the keyblade, I knew I had to bring her here."

"Was she able to tell you anything? She just had dropped in there?" Falsetto voice asked.

"Nothing much, she was pretty hazy. I think her world disappeared and that's how she got there. She didn't seem to know anything about the keyblade either, so it was probably first time when she drew it."

"Hmm… Well, you did right by bringing her here. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't ran into her."

Slowly you pushed the door open, peeking inside. You were greeted by… a mouse?

"Ah, here you are! Come in!" Little guy gestured you to join him and the mystery man. "You must be confused about all of this, I apologize for that."

You entered the round room with an upward spiraling staircase. Tower seemed much bigger from the inside than the outside, but you had confronted too many weird things today that nothing would surprise you anymore. Mouse fellow offered you his white gloved hand when you walked up to him.

"Mickey Mouse. Most of the folk know me as a King Mickey." He introduced himself as you reached down to shake his hand. "Oh, and this guy here is Riku." Mickey continued as he noticed the asking look you gave the hooded man.

"I'm [f/n], nice to meet you." You gave two of them a slight smile. Did that mouse just told you that he was a king? " _What the hell is happening, really?!"_

You and Mickey sat down on the couch next to the wall, so you could tell him everything you remembered. Riku leaned against the wall, hands crossed over his chest while you two talked. It made you feel a little uneasy that he hadn't taken the hood off a single time so you could actually see his face, but it didn't feel appropriate to ask him to do so either.

"I'm sorry that I can't tell you more." You sighed after finishing telling your story. "Seriously, I don't have any idea what happened. All I can remember was the sudden darkness and then I woke up laying on the ground."

"Unfortunately, I think that Riku is right- Your world disappeared into the darkness." King Mickey gave you a compassionate look. "When that happens, people usually find themselves from the Traverse Town… If they are lucky." He was quiet for a moment, now more pondering look on his face. "One thing puzzles me, though… Why did you caught up in the darkness before ending up there? It doesn't make any sense."

"Or more like how you survived out from there." Riku finally joined the conversation. "When you fall in the darkness with your world… You don't get out. Your keyblade was quite unusual too. Are you sure you aren't hiding something?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" You gazed daggers at him. "I told you all I know! I hadn't seen that key thing before in my life! God, do you get at all how frustrating this is for me?!"

"Calm down, both of you!" Mickey stated firmly. "Riku, I'm sure we can trust her. And [f/n], you can trust us." After a quiet moment of agreement, he continued. "OK… Let me show you."

Mickey hopped down from the couch, reaching his arm forward. In a quick flash of light, he was holding a golden key in his hand.

"This is a keyblade." He gave the key couple of swings in the air. "This specific one is called Kingdom Key. What Riku told me, it appears that you also have the power to summon one- Those who are chosen are called the keyblade wielders."

"Chosen..?" You repeated, trying to understand all of this new information.

"You don't just simply learn to materialize the keyblade." Riku walked up to two of you. "Keyblade chooses its wielder." He took the kingdom key from Mickey, after holding it just a brief moment, it reappeared back into its owner's hand.

"Could you give it a try and materialize yours?" Mickey asked you. "Just reach out your arm and concentrate. I'm sure you can do it." He gave you and encouraging smile, Riku instead just crossed his arms once more.

"I… I can try." You stood up and reached your arm forward. " _OK, concentrate…"_ Sighing to yourself, you closed your [e/c] eyes. " _Keyblade- Did it brought you from the darkness? No… Only when I accepted the darkness I found my way out. There is no shadow without a light. I have my my darkness… But I also have my light."_ When you opened your eyes, you were holding it in your hand.

"You did it!" Mickey chanted in excitement. You couldn't see his face, but Riku was just as surprised as you were.

"My eyes weren't deceiving, after all." Riku took couple steps closer. "What do you say, your majesty?"

"It is unique, that's true…" Mickey looked at your keyblade. "I first thought it was Oblivion but no… It's more like…"

"Dark Oathkeeper?" Riku finished his sentence. "It doesn't make any sense. Oblivion and Oathkeeper are like counterparts of each other, but I've never seen anything…"

"In between?" Stern, deep voice startled all three of you.


	2. Chapter 2 - Twilight Path

"Master Yen Sid!" Mickey uttered as severe looking man with a long, grey beard walked down the stairs.

"Keyblades are intriguing, and so are their wielders. Sometimes the reason why they choose a specific person as their master stays as a mystery forever." He didn't take his intense gaze from you even for a second as he approached, making you feel kind of nervous. "You wandered in the darkness but never succumbed under it. Instead, you took it in your heart."

"When I gave myself for darkness, the keyblade denied me! Why she-" Riku flustered angrily, but Yen Sid silenced him with a stern look.

"Instead of you, Sora became a keyblade wielder for the kingdom of light. Person chosen for that specific role cannot have darkness in his or her heart." Severe man continued, stroking his beard. "And, she might have darkness in her heart, but she isn't on the path of darkness." He looked at you again. "She is in between."

"Gosh, I'm not sure if I'm following…" King Mickey scratched his head in confusion.

"Like most of us, she has darkness and light in her heart. But in her case, it's something more special. Everyone struggles against the darkness in their hearts... But accepting it as a part of you may give you strength, as long as your heart don't give into it- And that's what you know fairly well, Riku."

Riku was silent, but you could feel his eyes on you.

"Every heart is unique. There's a reason why that keyblade chose you… The Duskwalker." Yen Sid had stopped in front of you, a little too close for comfort. "And by a quick look, you two fit for each others perfectly. Just stay on the twilight path, you'll be just fine- Try not to misstep… Or you might fall into shadows." After those puzzling words, he turned around and left.

For a moment, all three of you just stood there quietly, pondering Yen Sid's words.

"Darkness in your heart…" Riku broke the silence. "Your majesty, there's something I need to discuss with you privately."

"What, now?" Mickey blinked confused, but followed Riku outside, gesturing you to wait where you were.

You had been filled with enormous amount of information, but you felt just as confused and lost as before. Turning the keyblade in your hand, you finally took a closer look at it- Duskwalker, was it? It was really beautiful, to be honest. Shaft had two hearts in it, handle had a wing decoration on it. Overall the keyblade had dark, gunmetal like color.

"What am I going to do now?" You muttered quietly. Where would you go? It was clear that your world was gone, disappeared into the darkness. But how about your friends? Did Katla and Dyri disappear as well? With a sigh, you unmaterialized your keyblade and called it back again. You started to get a hang of it. Question was, what you were going to do with it? Yen Sid said that there was a reason why it chose you- So there had to be a purpose too. Nowhere to go, best thing to do now was probably just to go with the flow. Maybe King Mickey could point you into right direction?

" _Riku sounded pretty agitated when they left… Wonder what they are up to?"_ They had been gone for a while already. You were laying on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Soon you had enough of waiting, you made your way out. Mickey and Riku were having some intense conversation in the yard, but they quickly went quiet when they saw you approaching.

"What's going on?" You asked, looking at both of them. At first, neither one of them said anything, Riku briefly glancing King Mickey before answering.

"We need your help." He stated.

"Riku, it's too dangerous!" Mickey snapped, giving Riku a stern look. "We can't possibly ask something like that from her, she doesn't have anything to do with it!"

"Just tell me what it is." You uttered. "You helped me, if there's anything I can do-"

"This is something so much bigger. No one could secure your safety." King Mickey shook his head, but then glanced at Riku, gave him a slight nod as a permission to continue.

* * *

Long story short, Riku was asking you to go for an undercover mission in… What was it again? Organization XIII. Bunch of people in black coats like he was wearing, up to no good. They were all Nobodies, but that word didn't said much to you yet. Riku had been keeping an eye on them for a long while already, but it was impossible to know what they were up to without anyone with an inside knowledge. You could possibly control the darkness in the way they did- That was what they needed to get someone in. Also, you being the keyblade wielder was a massive advantage. Riku mentioned that the organization had a keyblade wielder, but he was gone now. Your mission was to become a member of this organization, report their meddlings to Riku and try to figure out more about these nobodies.

"Are you sure about this?" Mickey looked at you, worried look in his eyes. "You don't need to do this."

"Yes, I'm sure." You gave him a determined nod. "As long as Yen Sid teaches to use the keyblade and Riku shows me how to control the darkness… I'll do what is needed to do. What else there is for me, anyways?" You tried to show brave face, but deep inside you that last phrase made you sad. There really was nothing else for you now.

"So it's settled." Riku stated. "I… I am grateful for you doing this. You don't know how greatly it will help us if we succeed. But, we have a lot of work to do before we can actually proceed with the mission. I hope you are ready."

* * *

Only a week forward, your training was finished. Basics of the keyblade were easy to learn, rest of it you would master in a real combat. King Mickey was a little worried when you learned to control the portals, Corridors of Darkness, in merely couple of days. It was a bit too fast, or so they said. They didn't said it, but you knew the darkness in you worried them. Riku and Mickey had told you all they knew about the organization and the nobodies overall, making sure you had all the information you needed to start the mission. Your "backstory" wasn't too complicated to memorize: Who are you? I don't know. What do you remember? Nothing. Some nobodies had more or less memories about being a human, but it was easier to play it safe. Riku was sure that your darkness control abilities would be enough to convince them- And your keyblade would be enough of a bait to let you in easily.

"But trust no one, got it?" Riku reminded you firmly. "Some of them might seem harmless, but they sure are not. Don't hesitate to escape if you feel like they are on you. We know they have disposed quite a few of their members by their own."

"Got it." You nodded.

D-day was approaching. All or nothing.


	3. Chapter 3 - Organization XIII

***Writer's note:** You can come up with an Organization XIII name for yourself to use instead of your original name. Mix the letters of your name and add letter x somewhere in it. For example, Sora = Roxas, Lea = Axel.

* * *

First time you actually felt nervous was when you stood under their eyes, middle of the tall chairs. Glancing around carefully, you noticed that some of the chairs were empty- Only 7 members were left, sitting on their chairs.

"Let us welcome the newest wearer of our jacket, n.o XIII... [f/n]*. A keyblade wielder." Person speaking was apparently Xemnas, leader of the organization, sitting on the highest chair.

"N.o XIII?" Nobody with an eyepatch stated somewhat gleefully. "One is barely out and second one replaces, how rude is that!" He laughed.

After that statement, you only managed to caught a glimpse of darkness in corner of your eye as one of the members left his place.

"Damn Xigbar, now you pissed him off!" Other nobody jestered at him. "Discretion, please." He grinned.

At the very first look, there was quite a divide between the group. Other half had loud mouths and not too smart looking guys- But appearances could be deceiving. Other half was consisted of stern and quiet, more intimidating looking nobodies. Your eyes met Xemnas's as he was staring down at you, seemingly proud of his new pet.

* * *

"Okie-dokie, your room is over here." Demyx, member n.o XI, showed your way to your personal quarters. He seemed like a laid back nobody, even having some sense of humour. Quite nice fellow to be around with, to be honest.

"Tadah!" He waved his hand as you entered to the room. "We prefer quite minimalistic decor here, as you might have already noticed."

"So it seems." You muttered. The whole room literally had no other furniture than a bed. Overall, their headquarters were so… empty? Lounge, where most of the members seemed to spend their spare time, had couple of couches and small tables but that was pretty much it. Whole place was like a result of a crash of jail and a modern interior designer.

" _There's no way I'm spending all my spare time here… I bet that eventually this place would suck out my whole personality!"_ You got the creeps even by thinking about it. Maybe the nobodies felt comfortable in here because they had no real identity of their own?

"Demyx, wait a second." You called after him as he was about to leave. "Who was that guy who left middle of the meeting?"

"Oh, right!" He halted at the doorway. "You were introduced to everyone except him. That was Axel- He's been pretty cranky lately, don't mind about him." Demyx gave you another lazy wave as he went on his way.

" _OK, so let's see… Xemnas, n.o I… Xigbar, n.o II… Xaldin, n.o III… Saïx, n.o VII… Axel, n.o VIII… Demyx, n.o IX… Luxord, n.o X…"_ You counted in your mind. " _And of course… [f/n], n.o XIII."_ With a sigh, you sat on the bed. You were in. Now you just needed to lay low and play along.

* * *

Next day you were pointed on a mission with Xaldin, taking down numerous heartless in a world called Twilight Town. Your mission also consisted of scouting the forest on the edge of the town.

"What are we exactly looking for?" You asked as two of you made your way through the forest.

"An imposter." Xaldin's answer made your heart skip a beat. You were alone with one of the highest ranking members of the organization, who just mentioned an imposter- And you were one.

"An… Imposter?" You tried not to stutter as you glanced at him. Xaldin wasn't looking at you, continuing his way through the forest, hands behind his back.

"An imposter- Someone wearing our jacket, who has been meddling with our affairs for a good while now." He stated. "He has been spotted in this forest numerous of times, so we scout around every once in awhile."

" _Riku!"_ You were relieved. Xaldin wasn't suspecting you after all.

"Apparently he isn't around today. What a shame." Xaldin muttered, apparently longing for a fight. "Let's go. We shouldn't waste our time here."

As you stepped through the portal to the headquarters, Saïx was having an agitating sounding conversation with Luxord.

"...Since you were on a mission with him." Saïx ended his sentence.

"Yeah, but I'm not his babysitter. Who knows where he went." Luxord answered, seemingly annoyed.

Saïx turned away to leave, but stopped as he spotted you.

"[f/n]. Make yourself useful and find Axel. Tell him to check in with me at the very moment he gets back." He snapped at you, not waiting for a response before making his way down the hall.

"But… I don't even know where to start looking..!" You flustered, giving Xaldin a pleading look, who just shrugged and went by his way. You turned to Demyx, who was sitting on a lounge couch. "Do you have any idea where he could be?"

"Geez, I dunno…" He frowned, scratching his chin. "Well, he used to spend a lot of time in Twilight Town? You should start from there."

"That's better than nothing." You shook your head in disappointment, opened a portal and stepped through it back to the Twilight Town.

" _How the hell should I know where he's at when his comrades doesn't know either..? I haven't even really met him!"_ You thought to yourself, walking down the market street and looking around. " _Saïx doesn't seem to like me- He isn't very nice to anyone, but I should be cautious with him. It's pretty clear that he doesn't trust me at all."_ You arrived to the marketplace, casting your eye around the area- Not a trace of him. You kept looking for him rest of the day- No luck.

"That's it. There's no way I can find him." You whimpered out loud as you scouted the last place you could think of, the train station. Letting out a frustrated groan, you rested your head back and stared at the sky- Forever painted with the colors of the sunset that never ends. By the corner of your eye, you saw something in the distance. Turning around, you squinted your eyes to see what it was. There really was some movement at top of the clock tower. Could it be..?

You got up the tower, finding a rather slender man with a bright red, slicked back spiky hair sitting on the edge, staring at the sunset. Black jacket told you he was the man you were looking for. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice you approaching.

"Axel?"

"Oh fuck!" He yelped, startled by you. "Don't sneak up on me like that, geez! I almost fell down!" Axel rubbed his face with his hand, trying to recover from the mini heartattack you had given him.

"Sorry…" You apologized, feeling a little embarrassed for startling him so badly.

He just sighed, measuring you from head to toe for a moment.

"So what do you want?" He snapped at you after a moment of silence.

"Huh? I…" You got caught off guard by his rude attitude. You don't even know what you expected- Most of the nobodies were pretty unpleasant to be around with. Why he would be an exception? "Saïx told me to find you. He had something urgent to discuss with you."

"Understood." Axel stated, staring at the horizon again. You took this as a sign to piss off, so you turned away to leave.

"Pardon me!" You hissed to yourself. "Why everyone had to be such a dickheads? And what the hell is his problem..? I spend half of the day looking for him-" Mumbling half out loud, you started making your way down but halted as he called after you.

"Hey, wait a second!"


	4. Chapter 4 - Memories

" _Oh damn, he heard me?"_ You cringed before turning back. " _This had been shitty day enough already…"_

"[f/n], right?" Axel asked quietly as you made your way back to him. You answered with a nod, and he continued. "Hey, I'm sorry I acted out like that… It's nothing personal. Can we just start over?"

You didn't know what to say. This was unusual- Axel was first nobody who actually showed some interest to you, even apologized for his behavior? His green eyes carefully studied you as you tried to wrap up your thoughts.

"Sure." You mumbled, nodding again.

"Do you… Uh… Want to sit down?" Hesitating, he gestured you to sit on the edge next to him.

To be honest, you didn't like the heights too much but how you could refuse? Step at a time, you carefully stepped on the edge. Looking down was a mistake you couldn't resist- Distance between you and the ground made your knees feel weak, almost making you lose your balance.

"Hey, hey!" Axel grabbed on your arm, trying to keep you stable. "Easy there!" He smirked at you as he helped you to sit down next to him.

"You actually like to sit up here?" You gasped in disbelief, looking down again, knuckles white squeezing on the edge to make sure not to fall down.

"Don't just look down, you dummy." Axel chuckled, amused by your fear of heights. "Keep your eyes on the horizon."

Looking at the skyline really made you feel a bit better. Sunset was very beautiful from up there- View soon made you more relaxed, letting you forget the deadly fall down. Colors of the setting sun reminded you about your home: Your world had a forever autumn, just like this world had a forever twilight. Feeling homesickness creeping in, you tried not to think about it. It was too painful to miss something you knew you wouldn't ever get back.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Axel snapped you from your thoughts. "Sunset, I mean. I used to come here with my friend all the time before."

"Before?" You glanced at him. "What happened?"

"He… He's not around anymore. He had to go." He said quietly.

Even the fact that nobodies could form actual friendships was new to you. According to common belief, nobodies were just empty shells- No heart, no feelings. But he was… sad? He grieved lost of his friend just like you grieved yours.

"I miss my friends too." Your voice was merely a whisper. Only when Axel glanced at you, you realized that you had said too much.

"Your friends?" He looked at you surprised.

" _Oh shit, shit, shit! My first goddamn day… I had a one job… ONE JOB! What the hell I'm going to say to him..?!"_ Cold sweat running down your back, you tried to think of something.

"You have memories from your life as a human?" Axel asked curiously.

"Y-yeah, I have some hazy memories about a thing or two." You uttered, trying not to sound so horrified as you were.

"OK, tell me." He laid on his back on the stone flooring of the tower, still hanging his legs over the edge.

"Tell you what?" You frowned.

"About your friends, of course."

"Uh… Well…" You hesitated for a moment. "Their names were Katla and Dyri. I had some other friends too, but those two were my best friends. We did all kinds of silly things together." Just the memory of two of them made you smile. "Dyri was a happy-go-lucky guy, never scared of anyone or anything. Katla, instead, was more cautious type, but the sweetest girl ever."

"They both sound pretty cool." Axel chuckled, resting hands behind his head, eyes closed. "How about the world you were from? Can you remember how it was like? Maybe I've been there."

"Something about this world reminds me about it. Maybe it's the sunset?" You sighed. "There was forever autumn, so sunsets over there were pretty awesome too. All those warm colors everywhere." At this point you didn't even cared if you were telling too much. It felt so good to finally talk with someone like this. Processing your past from a nobody's perspective made it easier- Talking about it as another, distant life.

You took a deep breath, enjoying the ease feeling you had. Glancing over your shoulder, you looked at him. Axel was still laying there, relaxing, eyes closed.

" _He's pretty good looking, I give him that."_ You lifted your eyebrow. " _If he weren't a nobody…"_ You shook the ridiculous thoughts from your head just before he opened his eyes and gazed at you.

"Forever autumn, huh?" He repeated, looking puzzled for a moment. "No, doesn't sound familiar."

"How about you? Do you remember your past?" You were actually pretty curious to hear about his life as a human.

"Yeah…" Axel sighed. "But nothing so interesting it would be worth telling about."

"Not fair." You pouted. "I told you about my memories, even they weren't that special."

"They were special." He smiled as he stood up. "But hey, we should get back. I guess Saïx has waited for me long enough." He grinned mischievously and offered you his hand. "I'm not going to bite!" He laughed as you just stared at him. "Just making sure you're not going to try to trip and fall like before."

You took on his hand and he helped you up- You tried your best not to blush so fiercely as he casually grabbed on your waist as he guided you away from the edge. When you returned to the headquarters, Axel stopped you when you were about to head to your room.

"[f/n], wait a sec…" He hesitated for a moment before continuing, running his gloved hand through his spiky hair. "I was wondering if… Would you like to come to the clock tower again tomorrow? After work?"

"Huh?" You blinked confused. "Yeah, sure."

"See you there." He gave you a smile before rushing away, most probably to meet very agitated Saïx.

You went to your room with somewhat mixed feelings. You had a pretty clear picture of nobodies, but only a brief moment with Axel had proved that everything wasn't so black and white. If you wouldn't know, there was no way you could tell he was a nobody!

" _I need to look into this."_ You flopped on your bed. " _It was clear that some nobodies are more humanlike than others, but I didn't expect anything like this..!"_ What made Axel so different from the other nobodies? That's what you needed to figure out. "A friend?" You muttered out loud. " _That's it! He had formed a friendship with other nobody. The sorrow of losing it proved it had to be real. How about his friend? Was he as humanlike as Axel was?"_ You wouldn't ever know. He was gone. " _Could it be possible that nobodies could actually form emotions in right conditions? I need to tell Riku and Mickey about this…"_

Axel had invited you back to the clock tower tomorrow. It was probably a good idea to try to stick with him from now on, so maybe you could learn more. Besides, he was nice to hang out with. There was some other pretty cool members in the organization, like Demyx and Xigbar- Both of them were more social type, but neither of them seemed actually interested about you… Or anyone else beside themselves. Axel, instead, was very curious about you and didn't just talk but actually listened too.

You jumped up from the bed, making your way to the window. Leaning against the window sill, you looked at the big, heart shaped moon: Kingdom hearts.


	5. Chapter 5 - Ice Cream

"There's something more, I know it." You leaned against the tree, crossing your arms over your chest.

"Are you sure? They do look and act like humans, but-"

"That's not what I mean." You glanced at Riku. "But yeah, I need to look into it."

You were giving your first report to Riku in Twilight Town forest. Every occasional rustling sound you heard made you look around cautiously, expecting to see a black hooded figure behind every tree.

"You know, they are looking you from here every now and then. How about if we pick some other place to meet up next time, I don't want them to caught us red handed." You sighed as you prepared to leave.

"Good to know." Riku opened a portal to make his leave. "I'll be in touch."

After he left, you needed to rush to the clock tower. Thanks to meeting with Riku, you were late. Skipping over half of the way using the dark corridor, you were able to catch up a bit. These powers of darkness were pretty handy, you had to admit!

"For a moment I thought you weren't coming after all." You were greeted by Axel's smile as you arrived at the tower.

"Sorry I'm late." Giving him an apologizing smile, you sat on the edge next to him. "I was on a mission with Xaldin again- He's such a slave driver." You groaned.

"Hard day, huh?" He grinned. "Well, in that case I think you have earned this."

"Ice cream?" Surprised, you took the blue ice cream stick he was offering.

"It's not just any ice cream!" Axel gave you a stern look. "It's sea-salt ice cream. Best there is." He stated and took a bite of his ice cream.

"Oh." You mumbled, giving it a try too. "It is good. Salty and sweet at the same time."

You two sat there, quietly enjoying your cold treats and watching the sunset. After a while, Axel broke the silence.

"You know, that friend of mine… Roxas… He was the n.o XIII."

"XIII? You mean..?" You glanced at him cautiously. Axel was staring to the distance, that sad look in his green eyes again.

"When you arrived, I guess it was kind of hard for me when you took his place." He said quietly. "I mean, he had been away for a while already, but… Putting you under his number made it feel so final. He was a keyblade wielder, too."

"I had no idea." Now it made sense why he had been so agitated towards you in the beginning. You had basically taken over his friend's place. "I'm sorry…"

"Hey, it's not your fault." Axel turned to look at you. "It took a moment for me to realize it too- You aren't here to replace him. Maybe Xemnas is trying to replace him, but he can't." Slight smile spreading on his face, he continued. "You are not Roxas. You have your own personality, and he had his. When you snapped at me for acting out, I realized that." He gave you a teasing grin, making the heat rise on your cheeks.

"Thanks, I guess…" You broke the eye contact and concentrated on your ice cream again. "Eat your ice cream, it's melting."

Axel just chuckled and did as you told.

"So, you and your friend- Roxas, was it?" Since he wasn't very eager to tell you about his memories, you could just ask him about his friend.

"Uh-huh."

"What was he like? So you two had ice cream up here too?"

"Yeah, always after work." Axel smiled for the memory, fiddling with the ice cream stick. "He was a newbie like you, so I kind of took him under my wing. Roxas didn't have any memories of his own when he joined us, so he had kind of a tough start- When you don't have any memories, you act like a zombie for a while until you make some of your own."

"I see." You mumbled and finished your ice cream. "Where did he go?"

"He had to find someone. I tried to stop him, but his mind was made up. It was something he needed to do." Axel sighed, brushing his hair with his hand.

You carefully studied him. Look in his eyes told you he was in pain- Sad and lonely. He wanted someone by his side, someone to talk to… A friend. That's why he had asked you here. Could you two become friends?

" _No… I am a fraud."_ You felt a nasty twist in your guts. This was an unexpected issue. Axel was so… genuine person. And that was exactly what was making you feel so shitty about all of this. " _He is a nobody, but does it mean I shouldn't treat him like a person?!"_ You secretly glanced at him. He was wrapped up in his thoughts again, still fumbling with the ice cream stick that sorrowful look in his eyes. You wanted to comfort him so bad. You couldn't just sit there and do nothing. You've had enough for acting for today.

"Hey." You said quietly, trying to snap him out from his thoughts. Hesitating a bit, you gently patted his shoulder. When Axel turned to look at you and his bright emerald eyes met yours, your heart almost skipped a beat.

"I… Uh…" You stuttered. " _What the fuck are you stuttering?! Get a hold of yourself, damn it!"_ Quickly breaking the eye contact and pulling yourself together, you continued. "If you're feeling lonely… I could come up here some other time too if you want?" You carefully glanced at him. He looked surprised, even maybe lost for words. "I don't want to intrude or anything, I just-"

"No, no!" Axel quickly interrupted you. "I mean, no, you're not intruding." He gave you a slight smile, running his fingers through his hair again. "It would be nice. Thanks."

This wasn't good. You were on undercover mission in the organization, even if you would become friends… You would just end up hurting him- Leaving like Roxas and he would be all alone again. There was no way this could end up well. But what else you could do?

* * *

From that point on, everyday after work, you two met at the clock tower for an ice cream. Axel also accompanied you on your missions always he could, which also made meeting up with Riku a little tricky sometimes- You and Axel spend so much time together it was getting difficult to hide things from him.

"You are spending awfully lot of time with this specific nobody." Riku had pointed out his suspicions during your latest report. "I told you not to get too close to anyone."

"It's alright, it is a part of the investigation. What do you want me to do? I can't just ditch him, we can learn so much from all of this." You tried to ensure him everything was under control, but you didn't even believe yourself. You had gotten too close to Axel already- Something in him attracted you so much, but you couldn't wrap your head around it. Yeah, he was funny, cute, sarcastic little pyro... Maybe Riku was right, you should take some distance.

"But how..?" You whispered. With a sigh, you stared at the sunset. " _And… I don't even want to."_ These moments with him were the only thing in your life that actually made sense anymore. Neither one of you wanted anything from eachother, you simply just enjoyed your time together.

You glanced over your shoulder- He was late. You sat on top of the clock tower, waiting for Axel. Everytime he was late, you couldn't help but feel a little worried about him. What if something had happened to him? Was he alright? Should you go looking for him?

" _OK, I'm just being silly."_ You shook the thoughts from your head. " _He's fine. Why am I this worried about him anyways? It's not like I'm-"_

"Hey there."

You startled a bit, glancing over your shoulder again to see Axel finally arriving. Giving him a frown and a pout, you lifted up the two ice creams you were holding.

"You are late! These are already melting!" You scowled at him, but he just chuckled at your grumpy appearance.

"Oh, forgive me." Axel gave you that vicious grin of his that always made your heart flutter, sitting on the edge next to you. "You know you're my top priority, but I had to do some overtime today." He winked at you as he snatched the other ice cream.

" _His top priority my ass…"_ You rolled your eyes, but felt the heat on your cheeks. " _Ugh, why getting so embarrassed..? He's just playing around…"_ Casually gazing at him, you noticed something. " _Is it just my imagination... or is he sitting closer to me than usually?"_

"So, bad news." Axel stated in a gloomy tone.


	6. Chapter 6 - Time Apart

"Bad news?!" You flustered. "What is it?! Tell me!"

"Calm down a bit, geez!" Axel seemed quite amused by your reaction. "It's nothing that serious… And stop pointing at me with that, you're getting ice cream everywhere."

With a pout, you took your ice cream you had waved around away from his face.

"For a single dose complex you are quite a handful." He chuckled, but after seeing your confused look he continued. "OK, so I'll be away for a while." He stated in more serious tone. "For couple of days, probably."

"What?" You couldn't hide your disappointment. "Where you're going?"

"Can't tell, sorry." Axel shrugged, clearly avoiding eye contact. "Some top secret organization stuff." He sighed, continuing to eat his ice cream.

And what you were going to do while he was gone? No idea. You could catch up with Riku, but that was about it.

"C'mon, cheer up." Axel had noticed your gloomy look, looking at you a little worried. "You'll be fine without me. It's just a few days, I'll be back before you even notice. It's not like I want to go, but I have to."

"OK." You sighed in defeat. "Just take care of yourself, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." He grinned, rolling his eyes. "You don't need to be worried about me." You felt like an electric shock hitted you as his arm suddenly grabbed around you, pulling you closer to him into a hug. "I'll always come back for you. And next time when I do, we'll have ice cream here again. Got it memorized?" He grinned again, playfully ruffling your hair.

* * *

" _Why am I feeling so down..?"_ You thought to yourself as you followed Xigbar through the borough. " _He's just going to be away for a few days… Yeah, it will be pretty boring without Axel but no reason to get all depressed over it! And what the hell he meant by a single dose complex?!"_

"This place was called Hollow Bastion." Xigbar stated. "Now after rebuilding it people named it Radiant Garden. I liked the old name better, but I guess some people felt it had a bad tone in it." He chuckled.

He guided you up the stairs to the area where you had a clear view to the marketplace. And then, you waited.

"Care to tell me what we are standing around here for?" You sighed in boredom, giving Xigbar a stoic look.

"We are waiting."

"Yeah..?" You scowled at him. "And what we are waiting for?"

"Aren't you grumpy today!" He smirked, about to tease you more but suddenly halted, looking down to the marketplace. "There they are. Put your hood on."

You did as told, Xigbar also covered his face. Glancing down too, you saw a mysterious trio entering to the area- They didn't see you two, probably in a too much hurry to worry about their environment. Xigbar didn't make a move, so apparently you were there just to observe.

"Sora, wait up!" You heard that duck yell as they passed by, disappearing around the corner.

" _Sora?"_ Your eyes widened as you heard that name. That person who Mickey and Riku had told you about so much, the boy who was in the center of all of this. " _That's…!"_

"Events are in motion." Xigbar grinned as he threw the hood off his head. "I need to report this immediately. You should scatter off too."

"Huh?" You frowned at him in confusion as he opened the dark corridor to leave.

"Nothing else to do now. Have rest of the day off." He shrugged. Before you had time to protest, he was gone.

* * *

"Day off?" You muttered, sitting on top of the clock tower and swinging your legs over the edge. "Why of all of the days today I had to get a day off?" You couldn't figure out anything else to do than hang out at the tower. There was no really point in it all by yourself but what else you could do?

" _Playing cards with Luxord? No, he always cheats."_ You pouted at the thought. " _Demyx doesn't do much anything else than jams with his sitar… Xigbar is busy…"_ Rest of the bunch wasn't very pleasant to be around with- Out of options. Letting out a bored groan, you laid on your back like Axel usually did. You didn't want to admit it, but you felt completely lost without him. What was he doing, anyways?

Everyday after work you went to the clock tower, small part of you always expecting to find Axel up there. Unfortunately, he wasn't there. First day, all alone. Second day, all alone. Third day, all alone. You had tried to ask Saïx about Axel's whereabouts, never getting an answer. Not your business, or so he said.

After the fourth day of his leaving, you went up there again. Your heart sank as you glanced around the empty tower- No one in sight. With a deep sigh, instead of sitting on the edge like usually, you sat next to the wall- Hugging your knees, you curled up to wait for him.

"You said only few days." You muttered. "You are late."

* * *

 **Axel's POV**

"Four days..? Damn." He hissed under his breath.

After returning from the Castle Oblivion, Axel had spend couple of days running after Sora, working on his own plans behind the organization's back. Honestly, after finishing the mission in the castle, he wished he could give up on his meddlings and just return already. Why? He didn't know- Axel had his own plans he needed to follow… But this newbie, [f/n], had mixed everything up. He was having hard time concentrating on his businesses as he knew she was waiting for him. And of course, he was just as eager to get back to her.

" _She's such a distraction… And a pain in the ass!"_ Axel chuckled to himself as he made his way to the lobby.

"Ah, back again." Xaldin stated as he noticed him.

"Missed me?"

"Not really." Xaldin answered coolly to Axel's jesting.

"Hey, where's [f/n]?" Axel casted his eye around the lobby. "She wasn't in her room."

"Shouldn't you know? You two are awfully close." Menacing voice joined the conversation. Axel turned around to see Saïx approaching. "You just don't seem to learn."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Axel scowled at him. Without waiting for a response, he opened the portal to make his leave, still feeling those intimidating eyes on his back.

"You know exactly what I mean." Saïx's voice faded as Axel stepped from one world to another.

If she wasn't in the headquarters, there was only one place where she could be. Axel made his way up to the tower- First surprised that their usual spot was empty, but then he noticed something in the corner of his eye.

"Oh you dummy…" He couldn't help but chuckle- [f/n] was curled up against the wall, fast asleep.

Had she waited for him so long that she fell asleep? Axel had been eager to see her again after time apart, but for some reason he didn't want to wake her up just yet. Instead, he just sat next to her, carefully wrapping his arm around her. Why was he doing something like this? He had no idea. Being this close, her head resting against his shoulder, his arm around her… It was nice. She mumbled something half asleep as he gently brushed her [h/c] hair away from her face. He should probably wake her up.

" _But not yet… Only a little while longer like this."_


	7. Chapter 7 - Feelings

"Slacking off like always. Really, are you going to sleep whole day?"

Slowly, you opened your eyes and were greeted by Axel who was kneeling before you, giving you a mischievous smile. He gave few more firm taps on your head, trying to get some kind of reaction out of you.

"You're back?" Hastily rubbing your eyes you tried to make sure you wasn't still dreaming. Yep, he was still there. "You're back!" You shrieked in excitement, grabbing him into a violent hug that made him almost lose his balance. Only when dangling on his neck, you realized what you were doing. Face bright red as his hair, you were about to back off- But before you could do that, you felt his arms around you.

"You missed me that much?" He smirked into the hug.

His embrace made you feel light headed, almost like you were drunk from his touch. He was so warm, just like you always had imagined this pyro to be. Slowly closing your eyes again, you relaxed- Was it wrong to enjoy his closeness? Yes. Getting so close to him was definitely wrong… But how it could feel so right? You were digging even a deeper hole for yourself by letting this continue.

Quickly pulling away from the hug, you gave him a pout and smacked his head with your fist.

"Hey! What did I do to earn that?" Axel rubbed his head in confusion, looking at you cautiously for more possibly upcoming smacks.

"You are late!" You scolded him, crossing your arms over your chest. "Just a few days? I've been waiting for you here everyday and NOW you feel like showing up?"

"Everyday, huh?" While a wide grin spread across his face, you felt the heat rising on your cheeks again.

* * *

Finally, Axel was back and things were back to normal. Pacing to your room, you felt happier than in ages. You flopped on your bed, still grinning from ear to ear.

" _Wait a second…"_ You suddenly frowned. " _Things are back to normal? Why the heck that makes me so happy? I can't let myself forget that this isn't permanent… I'm undercover, for christ sake!"_ Lately you tended to forget why you were here for. As you had concentrated on Axel, you had slowly almost became a real member of the organization. All you had cared about was finishing your daily missions so you could hang out with him after work- When he was away, all you could think of was when he was coming back.

"Damn flamesilocks…" You hissed under your breath as you sat back up. " _He's all what I can think of nowadays… Why I'm so obsessed about him? It's not like I'm-"_

Suddenly you felt a nasty twist deep in your guts, like an invisible hand had grabbed on your insides and squeezed tightly. You had come into such a horrifying realization that only the shock itself made you feel sick in your stomach. Placing hand on your mouth, you muffled the confession you had to say aloud to even believe it yourself.

"I'm in love with him."

* * *

" _Oh fuck, fuck, fuck… FUCK!"_ You were pacing nervously back and forth in front of the train station, trying to figure out what to do. " _I'm in a deep shit… They told me not to get too close to anyone… And what I do? End up falling in love with a nobody?!"_ What were you going to do when all of this was over? Who's side on you were? Would you end up in a crossfire? What he says when he finds out that you were a fraud? Too many questions. You glanced up to the clock tower, where Axel was most probably already waiting for you. What if he felt the same for you?

" _But… He's a nobody. Can he even feel the same?"_ Heavy hearted you dragged yourself up to the tower.

"Who's late now?" Axel jested at you as you flopped next to him on the edge.

The look on his face turned from mischievous to worried as he noticed your gloomy mood. Without a word you began eating your ice cream, trying to avoid his eyes that carefully studied you.

"What's wrong?" He frowned, still not taking his gaze from you. "Did something happen?"

"Nah, it's nothing." You muttered quietly. "I'm just feeling little down today."

"You? Feeling down? C'mon!" Axel laughed and playfully punched your shoulder. "Yeah, you are little cranky sometimes, but depressed? Never!"

You gave him a slight smile, appreciating his attempt to make you feel better. You could tell he was struggling to come up with something else- Tilting his head, he kept running his fingers through his spiky hair like he always did when he was thinking very hard.

"You know you can talk to me." He said quietly, bit more serious now. This was pretty unusual- He usually tried to brush these kinds of things off with humour. As you carefully glanced at him, his look softened when your eyes met.

" _Oh damn, don't you look at me like that..!"_ You felt the pressure in your chest grow, your eyes locked in with his. With all your inner strength you managed to break that hypnotizing eye contact, only to notice something else. " _Hey, wait… No, no, no..! What are you doing?!"_ Cold sweat running on your back and your heart in your throat, you watched him slowly place his hand on yours.

"This isn't like you at all… I'm really getting a bit worried here." Axel smiled but couldn't hide his nervousness. "But you don't have to talk to me about it if you don't want to. As long as I know you're OK, that's fine for me. Alright?" He lifted his eyebrow, waiting for your response.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Giving him a nod and a smile, you felt a bit better. "No need to be worried about me."

"Promise?" He scanned you with his gaze once more.

"Yup." You assured him with couple more nods and a grin.

Now more at ease, Axel changed the subject and rest of the evening was like any other time you had ice cream with him. There was only one difference- Comforting time was over, but he didn't move his hand from yours until he announced that he needed to go.

"What? Already?" You flustered. He was leaving almost an hour earlier than usually.

"Yeah, Saïx had something important to discuss about." Axel stood up and stretched lazily. "You haven't heard? Well, I mean… They haven't said anything yet, but something strange is definitely going on."

" _What the hell?! I didn't have any idea about anything like that…"_ You thought as you watched him disappear. " _I have a really bad feeling about this…"_

* * *

"They are on to you." Riku stated. "We'll terminate the mission immediately."

"Damn, damn… DAMN!" You walked around nervously in the back alley of Twilight Town where you and Riku had your meetings. "How you can be so sure? And how they figured it out..?!"

"I've been keeping a close eye on the organization too, I don't know for sure what blew your cover… But they have been acting strangely for a while now. It couldn't be a coincidence that they so suddenly decided to keep you in the dark about their plans?"

Riku was right. Lately you had been given only some very basic missions, everyone keeping their mouth shut about the future plans.

"You did right when you followed your gut and reported this immediately." Riku gave you a nod under his hood. "You aren't going back to there-"

"What?! But… We don't even know for sure if-" You protested, but Riku was determined.

"We agreed that even if you suspect that they are on to you, you retreat." He stated firmly. "What are you going to do if they try to take you down?"

"I'll fight my way out." You slipped through a portal without giving him a chance to try and stop you.

Even if Axel now knew you were a fraud, you owned him this. There was no way you would just disappear, you needed at least to give the rest of the organization a proper middle finger.


	8. Chapter 8 - Resignation Meeting

When you returned to the organization headquarters, everything was… normal?

" _No, something is off."_ You leaned against a pillar, glancing at the few members that were at the lobby with you. " _It's too quiet."_ Axel was nowhere to be seen, which was really odd too- You always met up at the lobby before daily missions, but not today. Your chest felt tight as you had to admit the fact that Riku was right: " _They know."_

"[f/n]. You are coming with me today."

Saïx. This wasn't good.

"And where are we going?" You asked coolly.

"Leave thinking to your superiors." He stated with his monotone voice, not bothering to even glance at you as he walked through the portal, forcing you to rush after him.

When you stepped out of the corridor of darkness, you found yourself in the streets of a dark city- The World That Never Was, the same world where organization headquarters were. It was like you two had basically just stepped out from the door. Saïx had stopped before you, still his back at you. It was clear why you two were there. You were a dog to be put down behind the shed.

"Quite impressing." He slowly turned around. By the time his intimidating yellow eyes hit you like a daggers, you had already drew your keyblade.

"As a nobody, you didn't really made any sense." Saïx crossed his arms over his chest, giving you a stoic look. "But with your darkness abilities you fooled us quite long, I give you that."

You were still silent, gazing daggers back at him.

"You are rather quiet today, [f/n]." He sounded almost amused when he continued. "So was Axel when we brought up your little scheme."

Hearing his name from him made you feel like someone had poured an ice bucket down your back. Clenching your teeth, you squeezed the keyblade handle tightly.

"He never learns. Why choose an imaginary friendship over one that actually once was real? I guess he should be happy not to have a heart… Sometimes it's better just not to feel anything-"

"You are wrong!" You angrily snapped at him, making his eyes widen for a merely second. "You know nothing... All nobodies aren't only empty shells like yourself!"

"Harsh words. I'm almost hurt." Saïx drew out his claymore, slowly taking couple steps closer to you. "So you actually do care about him?" This was first time when you saw a slight smile spreading on his face. "That's sad."

Now you had enough of his shit. Saïx was barely able to counter your attack, pushing back your keyblade only inches away from his face with his claymore.

"Why getting so agitated?" He asked, staring at you with his emotionless yellow eyes.

"Fuck you." You hissed at him, pulling back from the attack and leaping to safe distance from him.

"I'm here to do him a favor- For the sake of our friendship in the past. And I can't lie it wouldn't be my pleasure to be the one to dispose you."

The fight was on. You had only seen Saïx in the battlefield for handful of times, but you knew what to do.

" _I need to be fast..!"_ You dodged his attacks, launching straight at him every time you had a chance. Saïx was a strong opponent, but he had his weaknesses too- If you could weaken him enough before he was able to enter his berserk state, there was a chance that he would retreat. Your plan seemed to work: Saïx had called out plenty of nobodies for his aid, trying to slow you down.

"Coward!" You taunted him. "Wasn't disposing me supposed to be easy for you? Why don't you fight on me one on one?!" You ignored the nobodies almost completely, dodging their attacks as best as you could, concentrating only to Saïx himself. This strategy had its downsides- You were taking constant damage from the nobodies, but getting rid of him first was your only option. Taking him down in his berserk state would be too much for you.

Just when you were about to reach your limit, Saïx backed off. And not a moment too early- You tried not to show it, but you had taken way too much beating in the battle.

"Pitiful creature." Saïx snapped. He was out of breath, seemingly surprised and frustrated about the level of fight you had given him. "I'm not going to waste any more time with you." He scowled at you, before disappearing he called out more nobodies to take care of you.

"Yeah, go ahead and run!" You called after him even you knew he was already gone. It was too early to celebrate, though- Amount of nobodies had almost doubled and you were already almost totally drained out. If you didn't get out of here fast, Saïx might come back to finish you off after licking his wounds. You needed to run.

"Oh shit!" You squealed as two dusks grabbed on your legs, making you lose your balance and fall down. You had been paying too much attention on higher ranking nobodies around you, without noticing the dusks lingering in your feet. Cringing for a stupid mistake you made, you slashed them off with your keyblade, only for more jumping at you before you could even get up.

" _There's too many of them..!"_ You started to panic. There was no way you could fight all of them off. Even escaping seemed more and more unlikely. Fight had taken its toll- You were having hard time not to faint from fatigue even at the very moment. Was this the end? Well, at least you were going out with a style. Kicking Saïx's butt made this all feel at least somewhat worth it. Lifting the keyblade for your protection and closing your eyes tightly, you embraced yourself.

Sudden bright light abruptly forced your eyes open. What was going on? Were you… dead? No. You were still there, laying on the ground. Light had surrounded you, forcing the nobodies away from you.

" _What's happening..?! It's so… warm?"_ Letting the keyblade drop from your hand, you collapsed to the ground. It took a moment for you to realize it, but it wasn't just light- They were flames. When the world around you faded black and you lost consciousness, you managed to whisper his name:

"Axel?"


	9. Chapter 9 - Full Being

Sky painted with orange, purple and red. That was the first thing you saw when you slowly opened your eyes. Your whole body was aching, reminding you about the events in the dark city. You were laying on your back on the hard stone floor- Hissing for the pain, you steadily lifted your head to look around. That unique sky had already told you where you were, but you were having a hard time to believe it. You really were at the clock tower. Familiar figure was sitting on the edge of the tower, his back at you. Only when you struggled to get into a half sitting position, he glanced over his shoulder.

"Finally awake, huh?" Axel stood up, made his way over to you and kneeled next to you. "How are you feeling?"

You didn't even dare to look him, feeling simply just too confused and even more… ashamed. You had lied to him for so long, even after gaining his trust. But now Axel knew everything. The fact that he he had saved you even after all of that made you feel even more shitty. What were you going to say? He didn't seem mad, though.

"Why did you save me?" Was only thing you could utter, still keeping your gaze down.

"Why?" He flustered. "Do you even need to ask that?"

Carefully you glanced at him, meeting those emerald eyes of his. He looked more serious than usually, studying you carefully.

"We are friends, right?" He asked quietly, not taking his eyes from yours.

"B-but…" You stuttered, having hard time to believe your ears. "But… I…"

"Lied?" Axel rested his chin on his palm, giving you that teasing look of his. "I know."

"Aren't you mad..? And I'm an enemy of the organization, you-"

"We all have our secrets." He stated. "C'mon, I lie to you all the time!"

"WHAT?"

"Just kidding." He smirked at you, patting your back. "Relax a bit, geez!"

You only scowled at him, waiting for him to continue.

"But yeah, I have to admit that I was a bit mad at first. But what comes to the organization stuff, I've done my part with meddling behind their back… I guess I'm not on anyone's side, to be honest." He shrugged. "So who am I to judge your actions?"

You were beyond relieved. Heavy weight had been lifted from your chest: " _He doesn't hate me?"_ You hadn't expected to see him ever again, but there you were. Talking like nothing had happened.

"But…" He gave you more serious look. "When they told me that you were a spy, I was kind of…" He hesitated before continuing. "I guess I was afraid that you were a total fraud. That all our time together was just a big act. I didn't want to believe it, but I couldn't help but have my suspicions. But your conversation with Saïx reassured me." He added with a grin.

"You heard that?" Suddenly you felt a bit embarrassed. Saïx had been pushing your buttons, luckily you didn't went all over and confessed your fuzzy feelings about Axel in the heat of the battle!

"Yeah." Axel ran his gloved hand through his hair and you could swear you saw him blush a little. "Even I had some mixed feelings at the moment, I had to go after you and Saïx. There was a chance that you were being honest… And there's no way I'm going to lose another friend." He smiled.

If you hadn't been sitting down, that smile he just gave you would have definitely made your knees weak.

"You sure did beat up Saïx pretty bad." Axel chuckled and flopped on the floor next to you. "Luckily I was forced to interfere only after he was gone. Standing up to him- That's one shit storm I'm not ready for yet."

"You would have done that?" You blinked confused, but soon gave him a teasing smirk. "Protected me even if Saïx had gotten best of me?"

"You and your questions..!" Axel dodged the question, just giving a punch on your shoulder. "Just concentrate on resting."

Now he was blushing for sure.

* * *

After regaining enough strength, you paid a visit to Yen Sid's tower to meet King Mickey and Riku. No need to mention that Riku wasn't very pleased about your selfish actions, but also relieved that you made out alive.

"So he is on our side?" Riku asked, seemingly suspicious about what you had told him. Axel had told you more about his meddlings against the organization as you had rested, now you were passing the information forward.

"I wouldn't really say he's on our side…" You scratched your head, trying to find better words. "But kind of, yeah. He has his own motives, but he's definitely not against us either."

"Thankfully you were right about him." Riku sighed. "Otherwise this all could have ended very differently."

"You did great job out there." Mickey gave you an encouraging smile. "You have become quite a warrior during all this time."

"Thanks." You smiled awkwardly. "But what's happening now?"

"Now we need to let Sora and others handle out the rest. In the time of conclusion we all will be needed… But now we can't do much else than wait." Riku stated. "You can stay here or find some other place for yourself, I'll find you when we'll need you."

* * *

You could tell Riku wasn't very comfortable about the idea of having an organization member around, so you ended up staying in a hotel room in Traverse Town. This way Axel could come for you and you didn't always need to hang out at the clock tower. According to Axel, organization was pretty assured that you were dead- Saïx had given an impression that he had taken care of the business, apparently too embarrassed to admit the way he ended up handling the thing.

"So you two really used to be friends?" You looked at Axel in disbelief. "If he was anything like that he is now… It's very hard for me to imagine you two having anything in common!"

You were in your dimly lit hotel room, talking about this and that. You were sitting on the edge of the bed while Axel leaned against the wall across the room.

"I know, right?" He rolled his eyes. "Things are different now- As a nobodies we drifted apart very quickly."

"No wonder. He's so… blunt. Always pissed off like someone had shoved his claymore up to his ass." Your last sentence made Axel chuckle. "You instead are more like…"

"I'm like what?" He gave you a teasing grin, seemingly very curious about what you had to say.

"Hmm…" You frowned like you were thinking very hard, but just shrugged and flopped on the bed.

"Hey, hey!" Axel flustered, you being secretly proud of yourself for teasing him for a change. "You can't just leave me hanging like that!"

When you still said nothing, laying on your back and staring at the ceiling hands under your head, you heard his footsteps quickly approaching.

"I'm like what?" His head popped into your field of vision. He was leaning over you, determined to get an answer.

"A pain in the ass?" You smirked at him.

"Ha-ha. Very funny." Axel pouted and gestured you to make room for him. "Move."

He flopped on the bed next to you and you two laid there in silence, both staring at the ceiling like it was a starry sky.

"What it's like to have a heart?"

"Huh?" You glanced at him- He really caught you off guard by that question. "Uh… I don't know…"

"What do you mean you don't know?" He frowned, looking a little confused. "You are a full being, so you have a heart."

"Yeah, I do, but…" How you could explain how it felt like? Did it even feel like anything? "If you remember being a full being yourself, don't you remember how it felt like?"

"It's not like that." Axel sighed. "I have memories, but I don't remember how it was like. Those memories are more like a photo book- I can look back to the events and try my best to relive them, but it's still not the same."

"Well… Um… I don't really know how to explain it." You mumbled. "It doesn't actually feel like anything. But it's difficult to say since I don't know how it's like to be without one either. To be honest- I'm not sure if having a heart is that big of a deal." Axel looked at you puzzled, waiting for you to continue. "I mean… I have one and you don't. I still don't see much difference between us. And besides, you are way more humane than many people with hearts I've met during my life. So why it's so important?"

You turned on your side to look at him, only to find your faces only inches away from each other.


	10. Chapter 10 - Funny Feelings

" _I should look away. Come on, just turn your goddamn head and look away!"_

You screamed the commands in your head, but your body didn't obey. You were paralyzed. Your [e/c] eyes locked on his, your heart beating so fast it could jump out of your chest at any moment.

" _Why you are so damn perfect?! And what's up with that look?! Stop it!"_

You bit your lip, trying to prevent the heat rising on your cheeks so fast. Axel had again his usual vicious smile on his face, but his emerald eyes had that soft look in them. You had to do something or you would definitely go crazy! You needed to do something… But what you did next wasn't exactly what you had in mind. Instead of turning away, you leaned forward.

And you kissed him.

Feeling his lips against yours, his hot breath on your skin- Your heart felt like it was going to burst. It was only a brief moment, but for you it felt like time had stopped. Maybe it was a mistake of your life to give in… It was too late to regret now.

Finally snapping out of it, you abruptly pulled away from the kiss. It was astonishing how quickly emotions could go from a pure bliss to a pure horror. What have you done?

"I'm sorry!" You jumped up to sitting position and slapped your hands on your cheeks, trying to hide the fact how fiercely blushed you were. "I… I…" What you should say? All you could do was stutter something unreadable about being sorry and bury your face into your hands.

" _I'm going to kill myself. I am literally going to kill myself. What the hell is wrong with me?! Always doing just that one specific thing I shouldn't-"_

You were too mixed up in you thoughts to notice Axel sit up too. You snapped from your thoughts only when he grabbed on your wrists and gently forced your hands away from your face.

"I'm sorry…" You repeated once more, avoiding eye contact in embarrassment.

"Don't be." His voice was merely a whisper. When you cautiously glanced up at him, he pressed his lips against yours.

Was this really happening? You had to struggle not to faint at the very moment. He really was kissing you. Letting your eyes close, you relaxed, giving yourself into the moment. Slowly, Axel released your wrists from his grasp and hesitatingly wrapped his arms around you. It was like he was getting shy all the sudden, carefully exploring the possibilities. Even his kiss was so gentle but yet so full of unreleased passion. You wanted to release that passion. The hunger you had for him was more you could take. You had waited too long for this, denying your feelings and fighting the urge to reach out to him. You didn't want to hold back anymore.

For your surprise, with a struggle Axel broke the kiss. He still kept you tightly in his embrace, but you could tell he was overwhelmed by all of this. He was breathing heavily, his gaze drifting around confused… He looked even little scared. You had never seen him like this. A panic attack? It had been too much, too fast.

"Axel?" You called him quietly with a calm tone. "Axel. Look at me." Cupping his face in your hands, you turned him back towards you. He focused his gaze on you again, still the panic in his eyes. Holding other hand on his cheek, your other hand traveled behind his neck. "It's alright." You managed to soothe him. He rested his forehead against yours, eyes closed, calm expression slowly returning to his face.

Axel was a nobody who was capable of feeling emotions just like any human… But you still needed to remember to take things slow- You didn't know how long it exactly had taken for him to get in touch with his feelings, rushing like this could be too overwhelming for him. He would adapt, but it needed to happen by his conditions.

"How about if we rest a bit?" You suggested, giving Axel a compassionate look. "You seem pretty worn out."

"Yeah… Sounds good." He smiled tiredly, laying down with you on the bed. He still hadn't let you from his embrace as you slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

 **Axel's POV**

Those strange feelings that had been lingering inside of him for so long already, mixed up with those new, exploding emotions that flowed into him at instant when she kissed him. When all that poured into him, Axel was sure he was going to overflow. He wanted more of her. No, he wanted all of her. Right at that moment, she needed to be all his.

But it was too much for him bear. [f/n] noticed his struggling, calmed him, soothing the storm of emotions building up inside of him. This was one of those reasons why Axel adored her so much- She didn't just handle her own emotions, but his as well. She always knew what to say, making everything make sense again.

This wasn't all new to him- He had memories of… love? Or something very similar to it. It was so familiar but so new at the same time. But he wasn't going to think about it now, he was emotionally too exhausted to cope with the logic now. All he wanted was to be close to her. Axel watched her sleep peacefully next to him, his arms still around her. He hadn't let go since he took her into his embrace, and he wasn't going to.

As their friendship grew, Axel had quickly noticed that it was different than with Roxas. Axel had always his own meddlings going on because like that he felt like he had a purpose. Some direction to head to, a reason why he was in this world: A mission. Or at least that was what he kept telling to himself- Truth was, he was lost. Drifting, not being able to hold on to anything. Only excuses after excuses. When Roxas was gone, only thing that made sense in his life was gone as well. But then, she came to him, pulled him out of his misery and gave him something to hold on to.

For the first time in his life as a nobody, Axel felt like he belonged to somewhere- By her side. Honestly, he was little bit scared, too. What would have happened if he hadn't went after her and Saïx… He didn't even want to think about it.

She rested her head on his chest, still in deep sleep. Carefully, he brushed her [h/c] hair away from her face, trying his best not to disturb her sleep. She looked so delicate and vulnerable, resting calmly next to him. Axel knew she could handle herself more than well, but he couldn't help but feel the overpowering need to protect her. He wasn't going to lose her too.

* * *

 **Back to Reader's POV**

Your back was aching. You could romanticize the situation, go on and on what a bliss it had been to finally sleep in the embrace of your love… At some part it had been- But the fact that Axel didn't let go of you for once during the night, not so much. That was cute, yes, and you loved to be close to him, but as a restless sleeper it was difficult to stay still the whole night. Not mentioning the inhumane body heat of his- It had been quite a sweaty night, and not in a good way.

" _Geez… His grip is tight!"_ There was no way you could wriggle free without waking him up. " _He's like an otter."_ You glanced at the sleeping pyro that squeezed you in his embrace. " _Holding tightly on to his partner to make sure not to drift apart during the night!"_ Giggling to the image of Axel-otter in your mind, you poked his ribs to wake him up. "Rise and shine, flamesilocks!"

"Ugh… Why did you had to learn that stupid name from Xigbar?" Slightly opening his eyes, Axel glared at you annoyed- But soon giving in after seeing your smirk, he gave you a sleepy smile instead. "But good morning to you too."

Now released from his tight embrace, you hopped up and enjoyed so much needed stretching. Pops and snaps across your body told you about the tough night. You should probably be processing the last night events, but you were simply too tired (and late) for that now.

"So what are the plans for today?" Axel was still laying on the bed, hands behind his head.

"I'm not sure, actually." You frowned. "I guess I'll check on King Mickey and Riku, after that… Maybe spying on you guys again." You added with a grin. Even you weren't undercover anymore, you had decided to keep an eye on the organization alongside with Riku. "What about you?"

"I dunno." Axel sighed. "Don't really feel like going there at all today. What's the point anymore? I always end up getting the icky jobs… And it's no fun there without you." He added in a gloomy tone.

"Well, I am there… Kind of. Just think of me lurking in the shadows, looking after my otter."

"...Otter?"

"Nevermind." You giggled and put your hood on, ready to head off. "I'll see you in the evening. Ice cream after work?"

"Yeah, sure..!" Axel rushed after you as you opened the portal, managing to grab on your hand just before you were about to leave. You turned to look at him confused and he just stared at you for a moment, trying to find words. "Hey… Uh… Stay safe, alright?"

"What's up with you?" You smirked under the hood. "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. Don't worry about me."

"What's up with me?" He pouted. "I'll show you what's up with me." After saying this he tugged your hood off and planted a soft, lingering kiss on your lips. "See you after work." He smiled at you as he sended you off.


	11. Chapter 11 - Double Dose Complex

Sitting at the clock tower felt different this time- Different in a good way, for a change.

" _This is almost like a date!"_ You grinned to yourself. " _Or wait…"_ You frowned. " _Is this a date?"_

You were at the tower quite a bit earlier than usually, so you had time to try to process everything. You liked him, he liked you. But what exactly was the situation between you two? You could say you were... a couple? Romantic relationship with a nobody was a little bit complicated. Axel needed time to adapt to his feelings- Should you give him space and let him make the advancing moves? Or should you take charge of the situation and guide him?

"I guess I could… teach him a thing or two." You laughed to yourself mischievously, blushing for the thought. " _Wonder if he is as fierce in bed as he is in the battlefield?"_

"What's so funny?"

"Shit!" You yelped as you sprung around quickly. So focused on your daydreaming you hadn't notice Axel making his way to you.

"I'm not late!" He abruptly uttered before you could even open your mouth. "You are just early."

For your surprise, Axel didn't sit next to you like usually- This time he sat down more like behind you, hanging only one of his legs over the edge. Reason for this cleared to you soon, as he gently snatched you into his arms, pulling you back to lean against his chest.

"So how was your day?" You asked, taking the ice cream he was offering.

"Reasonable." Axel mumbled, taking a bite of his icy treat. "Boring. I know Xemnas or Saïx doesn't either one trust me anymore one bit, but they have been shutting me out even more than usually. Your friends have been wiping out more members, Demyx and Xaldin for example."

"You mean Sora and others?" You glanced at him over your shoulder. "Damn."

"I was surprised too." Axel chuckled. "But enough about work, let's talk about something else."

"Okay, fine." You agreed. "What do you wanna talk about?"

"Hmm… I dunno. Tell me something."

"Like what?" You giggled.

"Something. Anything." He shrugged.

You were trying to come up with something to talk about, when you suddenly felt his hot breath on your neck. Shivers running through your body and the heat rising up on your cheeks, you tried to carefully glance over your shoulder. Axel had leaned closer, now already nuzzling your neck as he cuddled you.

"Sorry." He grinned as he noticed you looking at him. "Got bit carried away."

"Uh… No, no… I don't mind." You stuttered quietly and turned your gaze back to the horizon, secretly hoping he would continue. "So… Um… What did you meant by the single dose complex?"

"Huh?"

"Ages ago you said that I was a single dose complex. What did you meant by that?"

"Oh… So you remember that." Axel chuckled, sounding bit nervous. "It's nothing bad, really!" He quickly continued as he noticed your murderous glare, running his fingers through his hair. "Uh… Well I'm going to be honest! I think women are somewhat… difficult. Nobody women are bit easier, so they are single dose complex and regular women are… double dose complex." He gave you an apologizing look, but it suddenly turned into a vicious smile. "No wonder. You really were double dose the whole time, if that would be only half of it-"

Without a warning, you shoved your ice cream into his mouth middle of his sentence.

"Someone isn't getting a goodnight kiss tonight!"

"[f/n], come on!" He flustered, but soon calmed down as he realized that you were just joking. "Alright, I earned that." He grinned, playfully ruffling your hair.

* * *

You stayed up there longer than usually, enjoying each other's company. Only when you couldn't anymore hide the sleepiness that had creeped in, letting out a yawn or two every once in awhile, Axel decided it was time to head back. When you sat on the edge of your bed, Axel kneeled infront of you.

"So… What about that goodnight kiss?" He grinned at you, mischievous glow in his eyes. "Still too mad at me?"

"Hmph!" You pouted at him for teasing you like that. "No…"

Axel just chuckled, pleased by your reaction. He leaned closer, pressing his soft lips against yours. It felt just as druggening as always when he kissed you, giving you that light headed feeling and fluttering in your chest.

"Alrighty." Giving you a warm smile, he stood up, about to make his leave. "Good night."

"You… You could stay here." You abruptly suggested. "If you want."

"Oh." Axel stopped by his tracks, turning back at you. "You don't mind..?"

Of course you didn't mind, you wanted to spend every waking moment with him! Axel sat on the bed next to you, smoothly wrapping his arm around you as you two talked about this and that before going to bed. Events of last night had been in your mind the whole day, so you couldn't help but ask him about it.

"So Axel- How do you feel about… all of this?" You tried your best not to sound as worried as you were, carefully glancing at him.

"All of this?" Seemed like he got bit caught off guard by your question. "Us?"

"Um… Yeah."

"Well…" Axel hesitated for a moment, playing with a lock of your hair while trying to put words together. "I would be lying if I'd say this hasn't been a little overwhelming for me. But I'm happy." He glanced at you, giving you a warm smile. "I just needed a moment to get adjusted to the situation."

"Life is funny, you know." You smiled, snuggling closer to him.

"Yeah? How's that?" He chuckled.

"What all needed to happen to get us here where we are now- If my world hadn't disappeared, if you hadn't become a nobody in the first place… We wouldn't probably even ever met."

"You sure?" He smirked at you. "As Axel or Lea- I bet I would have found in any case."

"Lea?" You asked curiously.

"That was my name." He sighed, but still seemed happy. "But if I needed to become Axel to find you... I'm happy I did."

That confession made your cheeks turn bright red- He had basically just told you that he was happy to lose his heart just to be with you. Soon you decided it was time to go to bed, and so once again you fell asleep in each other's embrace.


	12. Chapter 12 - Love Lessons (Lemon)

**! LEMON WARNING! This chapter is all lemon, so if you don't want to read text of sexual nature, please skip this chapter and move to next one. !**

You woke early in the morning again, but this time not because of Axel's otter squeeze- He was spooning you, his arm lazily wrapped around your waist. Burying his face into your hair, he mumbled something in his sleep- That was the thing that probably woke you up in the first place.

" _Don't you ever let me sleep..?"_ You tiredly smiled to yourself, trying to find a comfortable position to continue your slumber.

Axel mumbled something quietly again, you could barely make out your name between other muffled unreadable words. His arm twitched occasionally- Wonder what kind of dream he was having?

" _He's breathing bit heavier than usually… A nightmare?"_ You frowned, but since you couldn't be sure, you decided not to wake him up.

Only when he let out a quiet moan and abruptly hugged you closer to him, you felt something pressing against your lower back.

" _NOT A NIGHTMARE."_ Your eyes flew wide open. " _DEFINITELY NOT A NIGHTMARE!"_

Now you were fully awake. Axel was panting into back of your neck, pressing his hardened member against you- That sure was more than enough to turn you on! Since his emotional life as a nobody was pretty complicated, you couldn't help yourself not to wonder about his… urges? To be honest, you hadn't been sure if he even had any, but this definitely proved he did. Wonder what he was dreaming about? Hopefully about you~! He did whisper your name earlier, right? When another soft moan escaped from his lips, you couldn't take it anymore.

Carefully and trying not to wake him up, you turned on your side to face him. The look on his face was just too much for you- He had somewhat frustrated frown on his face, but at the same time he looked so peaceful. Your own urges building up inside of you, you tried to decide what to do. Slowly your hand began to make its way down his chest, but you managed to stop yourself before going below the belt.

" _Am I really doing this?!"_ You blushed. " _Gosh, I am NOT going to molest him in his sleep!"_ You glanced at him again, pressing your knees tighter together. " _But I want to… NO. I'm not going to do it."_ It was settled- You had to wake him up if you wanted to go further from here.

"Axel?" You whispered his name, gently shaking him to wake him up.

"Huh?" Axel muttered tiredly as he opened his eyes, giving you a confused look. "What is it? I was having a good dream…" He yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"What kind of dream?" You couldn't help but ask.

"Uh… Why do you ask?" It was difficult to see in the dim room, but he was definitely blushing. You also noticed that he was sneakily tugging the blanket between you two, probably trying to hide something from you.

You snuggled closer to him, pressing your body against his. When you leaned closer to kiss him, his breath grew heavier again. At first he didn't seem to know what to do- But soon his hand found its way behind your neck, gently guiding your face closer to his so you could deepen into more passionate kiss. Feeling his tongue occasionally brushing against your lips, demanding for an entry, you were more than happy to let him in to explore your mouth. Now with clean conscience, you let your hand travel down his chest- Axel moaned softly into your mouth as your hand reached its destination, eagerly rubbing against the hot bulge below his belt. He began slowly pull down the zipper of your jacket, helping you to undress until you had only your bra and panties on. Then you helped him as he started working on removing his own clothes, now planting soft pecks all across your neck. You couldn't help but let your hands travel across his hot, skinny but toned upper body.

Starting to get frustrated for waiting, you hastily began to fumble with the zipper of his pants. Axel had just unhooked your bra, throwing them to the floor with rest of your clothes. His warm hands all across your body felt divine, making you want more of him every passing second. Finally you managed to release his now rock hard member from his pants, eagerly beginning to pleasure him with your hands. Maybe even bit too eagerly, since after letting out couple hoarse groans of pleasure Axel quickly brushed your hands off.

"S-stop it." He stuttered, voice filled with lust. "Otherwise you'll make me cum already."

With a smile you pressed your lips against his again, letting him take his pants off- After that you gently pushed him on his back into half sitting position, leaning against the headboard. You quickly removed your panties and crawled on top of him, straddling him as you guided him against your opening. Gasping for both pain and pleasure, your hips pressed against his and he was all inside of you. You could swear he filled every inch of you- If you hadn't been so dripping wet as you were, it could have been quite painful get him all the way in. Axel was also gasping for air, squeezing your hips tightly with both hands. Embracing yourself for a moment, you slowly lifted yourself up and with a quiet moan pressed your hips back down- After couple times you began to adjust to his size, every repeat being less painful and more pleasuring. When you were confident enough to rise the speed, Axel began to buck his hips upwards in the sync of your movements- Soon the room was filled with hoarse moans and groans as you slammed yourself up and down on top of him, feeling the pleasure building up inside of you. Digging your nails into his chest, you threw your head backwards as you reached your climax, howling his name as you rode your orgasm off.

Axel wasn't yet finished- Grabbing you into his arms, he flipped over so he was on top of you. He began moving, making sure that every thrust hitted as deep as possible. Still sore from your climax, you couldn't help but clung on to his neck and cry out in pleasure. His lips were back on your neck, now giving it more rough treatment between his moans- You bet he was leaving you couple of hickeys to remind you about this lust filled night. Shifting his weight on to his other arm, his other hand traveled down your lower belly to rub your sensitive spot while he kept ramming in. You gasped as he did this- Still sensitive from earlier, your second climax was building up fast.

"I want you to cum with me." He groaned into your neck. His voice was hoarse, telling you he was close.

He could barely finish his sentence when you arched your back, crying out his name again as you came second time. With a single deep thrust accompanied by a loud, hoarse groan, Axel released his own tension, cumming deep inside of you before collapsing on top of you.

For a moment you laid there, both sweaty and out of breath. After regaining enough strength, Axel flopped on his back next to you. You pulled a blanket to cover both of you, snuggling close next to him. He hugged you closer, letting you rest your head on his chest he gave a gentle kiss on top of your head. Caressing your bare shoulder with his fingertips, you fell asleep quickly.


	13. Chapter 13 - Goodbye

When you woke up next morning naked next to the sexy pyro, you couldn't help but smile to yourself- A mission succeeded! Glancing at the clock, you noticed he was already late.

"Axel! Wakie wakie!" You chanted as you flopped halfly on top of him, planting a kiss on his forehead to wake him up.

"Well, well… Aren't you cheery today?" He chuckled tiredly as he slightly opened his eyes.

"You are late."

"Is that so..?" He smiled, closing his eyes again.

"You're not going today?" You asked surprised as he showed no intentions to get up.

"I don't know. Maybe." Axel yawned. "But one thing I know for sure, and it's that I'm going to sleep late today. I think we both can agree that last night wasn't very restful." He added, giving you a smile with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Yeah, true." You smirked, blushing a bit for the memory.

"Or if you're in a hurry to get me away from here…" He suddenly snatched you into his arms, hugging you tightly against him. "There's one sure way to wake me up." He added with a wink.

"You are quite something, you know that!" You laughed, struggling free from his embrace.

"Can't blame me." He grinned as you reached for your clothes on the floor. "Beautiful naked woman on top of me first thing in the morning…"

After couple of minutes Axel got up too. When you had finished dressing up, you both almost had a heart attack when a corridor of darkness suddenly opened in the room.

"Geez, Riku!" You yelped in relief as you recognized the intruder. "You can't just walk in here using the darkness, we almost shat our pants! Relax, Axel. It's just Riku." You quickly added as you noticed Riku glaring over your shoulder at Axel who had drawn his weapons at the very second the portal appeared.

"Sorry, won't happen again." Riku stated calmly, but you couldn't help but notice that he was still glaring at Axel who was zipping up his jacket.

"So what is it?" You asked. Riku never randomly appeared into your room, so something was definitely up.

"Sora and others are heading to the World That Never Was." He said. "It's time."

"He's going to take Xemnas down?" You gasped in disbelief.

"Yes. It's not going to be easy, and definitely not safe… But we need your help." Riku moved his gaze back to Axel. "Can we count you in, too?"

"If [f/n] is going, so am I." Axel stated firmly.

"Fine. But no foul play." Riku glared at Axel once more before opened corridor again. "Let's go, there's no time to waste."

* * *

You and Axel stayed in the shadows as the mission proceeded- Only when Sora and others entered the Betwixt and Between, you needed to step in. Sora was surrounded by massive amount of nobodies, unable to fight all of them off by himself.

"Axel? And… who are you?" Sora flustered as you two joined the battle.

"A friend of a friend." You smirked. "Put that keyblade of yours to work, Axel and I can't fight all of these off by ourselves!"

To be honest, you didn't know if even all three of you could do it. Amount of dusks was unspeakable- More you killed, even more seemed to appear.

"Shit!" You cursed, feeling the panic building up inside of you. "Where are these coming from..?!"

"There's too many of them." Axel hissed.

Your heart was beating like crazy. What were you going to do? Was this the end? You glanced at Axel over your shoulder, meeting his emerald eyes. He knew it too.

"Make sure Sora gets away from here."

"What?" You flustered. What was he talking about? Something in his voice made your heart sank.

"Corridor of darkness is the only way." Axel turned towards you, grabbing you into his embrace. He smiled, but look in his eyes was full of sorrow.

"What are you going to-" Your voice began to break as the panic hit.

"I promised myself to protect you." His voice was merely a whisper. Abruptly he pressed his lips against yours before he continued. "We all aren't getting away from here. But I can make sure you and Sora will."

Giving you one last smile, he leaped into the sea of dusks. You wanted to yell after him, but there was no voice in you. Knees weak you fell down- He wasn't going to do it. He couldn't. No.

"Axel!" You finally managed to scream his name as warm light filled the room, forcing you to cover your eyes.

Everything was over in a seconds. Dusks were gone. By the corner of your vision you saw Axel collapse, now laying on the ground silent and still. Quiet scream filled your head as you just stared at him, paralyzed. This wasn't happening. Only when Sora ran over to him, you managed to get up on your wobbly feet and rush over to him as well.

"No… No, no, no, NO!" You repeated same words in panic as you lifted his head on to your lap, too shocked to even cry. He was fading away.

"I'm sorry." Axel uttered quietly. "Not for this, though." He chuckled tiredly. "This is what I needed to do… And there's no way I would ever regret for saving you. And Roxas." He glanced over at puzzled Sora before returning his sad gaze to you. "I'm sorry that our time together was so short. But... I guess it would never be long enough."

Axel raised his hand to gently cup your cheek, but he was too worn out- When his hand was about to fall, you managed to catch it and held it against your cheek yourself.

"Don't leave me." You pleaded quietly. When you saw a single tear roll down from the corner of his eye, you finally broke into tears.

"I hope… we are more lucky in the next life." Axel gave you another sad smile. "I know… no matter what… I will find you. Maybe then I will have a heart to give you."

Before you even knew it, he was gone. You sat on the ground, paralyzed. Breathing was difficult, tension in your chest was too much to bear. Lifting up your shaking hand, you opened a corridor.

"Go." You whispered.

"Huh? What about you?" Sora looked at you, seemingly worried.

"Just GO!" You screamed, letting out a painful cry as you squeezed your head with your hands. Tears rolling down your face, you collapsed to the ground into a fetal position and world around you faded dark.


	14. Chapter 14 - Darkness, My Old Friend

How long it had been? A minute? An hour? A day? A week? You didn't know. Or even cared. You had cried all your tears long ago already, now only curled up in a fetal position and staring into the infinite blackness. Heart broken into million pieces, you were lost in the darkness. This time there wasn't a way out. You knew it, but didn't care. There was nothing for you anyways. You were one with the darkness now. You couldn't even draw your keyblade anymore, every corridor of darkness you opened didn't lead to anywhere. Only more and more pitch black darkness all around you.

Axel died. He saved you by cost of his own life. Saving your life he also took the reason for you to live.

"Take this away from me." You sobbed, pressing your arms tightly against your chest. "I don't want to have a heart if I need to feel this pain."

"...[f/n]..?"

You sprung up in merely a second, looking around you. Nothing.

"I'm losing my mind…" Burying your face into your hands, you fell down to your knees. It was his voice.

"...[f/n]!"

Was it really just your imagination? His voice echoed all around you in the darkness, not just in your head.

"[f/n]!"

There was it again! There was something else too, but you couldn't make out anything else except your name. Your heart was racing. Was this true? If it really was him… How?

" _OK, concentrate… What he is saying?"_

"... [f/n], where are you? Come back…"

" _That's it! It's him!"_ You jumped up, pressing your hands on both sides of your head to help you concentrate. " _Come on, come on… Concentrate!"_

"I once promised… Geez! I'm trying here!"

"...What?" You glanced up, stoic frown on your face.

"Some privacy, please!"

* * *

 **Lea's POV**

"What do you mean she disappeared?!" He flustered angrily.

"She… Uh…" Sora scratched back of his head. "After you… faded away… She opened the portal for me and then she…"

"And WHAT?!"

"Axel, calm down!" Riku commanded sternly.

"I told you, it's Lea..! Argh, whatever!" This was so nerve-racking. After his death as a nobody he had awakened in Ansem's lab as a full being, rushed to find [f/n]- But she was nowhere to be found. Now he was at the Yen Sid's study, trying to squeeze some information from Sora and others. "Don't tell me to calm down, damn it… I need to find her!"

"She just… vanished." Sora gave Lea an apologizing look, feeling sorry not being able to help. "It looked like… darkness swallowed her."

"This is what Master Yen Sid warned her about." King Mickey shook his head in despair. "She fell into the shadows."

"Then I'm going to go get her back from there!" Lea stated determinedly. "I can still control the darkness-"

"No, you are not going to do that." Deep, stern voice interrupted Lea's blustering.

"And what that is supposed to mean, old man?!" Lea scowled at Yen Sid.

"Lea, please! Some respect!" King Mickey tried to calm him down.

"She's too deep in the darkness. If you both end up there, neither of you is getting out." Yen Sid continued. "But, there is a way…"

Everyone in the room waited anxiously for him to continue.

"You are her way out." Yen Sid turned to look at Lea, stroking his beard.

"What..? How I can be her way out if I can't even go to get her back..?"

"You need to guide her back to us. Call for her." Room was silent, all eyes on Master Yen Sid and Lea. "Your hearts are connected- She will hear your call, find the light in her heart and the way back to us."

"Call for her..? How I'm going to do that?" There was hope. He would do anything what was needed to get her back to him.

"Close your eyes, concentrate. Call for her, not only with your voice but with your heart."

Slowly Lea closed his eyes. What exactly he needed to do? Call her with his heart? How that worked? He just needed to try- Try until she would hear him.

"[f/n]?" Lea called her name quietly. "Come on, can you hear me? [f/n]?" With a frustrated sigh, he continued trying. How he would know when it worked? "[f/n]! Please, [f/n], where are you? Come back to me. I… I once promised…"

Lea slightly opened his other eye, glancing around the room.

"Geez! I'm trying here! Some privacy, please! Scatter around, OK?!" He growled, feeling the heat on his cheeks.

* * *

 **Reader's POV**

What was he talking about? You just assumed that wasn't meant for you, trying to keep concentrating.

"... I once promised that I will always come back to you."

That last sentence made your eyes fill up with tears you thought had already dried up.

"I promised to come back to you… And I did! But now I need you to come and meet me in the half way! Please! [f/n], come back to me..!"

But where he was? How you would get to him? Could you even escape from this darkness? You started to panic.

"[f/n], I love you..! Come back!"

When you opened your eyes, you startled- There was... a door in front of you? You couldn't believe your eyes, where did it came from..? Cautiously you approached the door. Peeking behind it, looked like it didn't lead to anywhere.

"Is this… the way out? Oh well. It's worth of a try." You mumbled. "Doors pretty rarely pop up at you without a reason."

You grabbed the handle and tugged. Nothing. Pushed? Nothing.

"Locked?!" You flustered. "What the hell I'm going to do with a locked door! I need a key…"

That's it. A key. Your heart began racing again as you raised your shaking hand.

" _Please… Let it work!"_ You prayed in your mind. You hadn't been able to call out your keyblade after falling into the darkness- Now it was your only chance. "This door is my only way to him… I need it to work!" Taking a deep breath, you went for it.

"YES!" You cheered as a light flashed- Your keyblade was back. "Keyblade opens every lock, or so they say… Let's try it out."


	15. Chapter 15 - Reunion

You found yourself in a familiar place. Keyblade indeed opened the door, stepping through it had brought you in front of the mansion in Twilight Town.

"Why here..?" You glanced around cautiously. "World That Never Was probably is now… world that never was, literally"

If you weren't able to return where you had left, you would drop in somewhere in between- It would make sense that you appeared here since Twilight Town was closely in contact with organization headquarters.

But back to the more important stuff. Where was him? Or did you just imagined it all? You decided to head to meet King Mickey and others, they needed to know that you were alive and well- Maybe they would know something about Axel.

"[f/n]!" Mickey rejoiced as you rushed through the tower doors.

"It really worked…" Riku smiled. "Who would have guessed?"

"Welcome back!" Sora patted your back, happy as well for your returning.

"I… I…" You stuttered, casting your eye around the room. "What…? Where…?"

"Oh, right!" Sora grinned. "[f/n], there's someone upstairs who has been looking for you."

For a second, you just stood there dumbstruckt. Could it really be..? Snapping out of it, you rushed up the stairs. Running all way to the Yen Sid's study, you hastily pushed doors open. Your heart almost jumped out of your chest- Tall, slender man in a black coat, flaming red, slicked back spiky hair… It was him.

Words stuck in your throat, you stood there staring at him. He hadn't noticed you yet- He stood there, eyes closed, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

"Come on, [f/n]... Do you even hear me?" He sighed. "Hell with this! I'm going to get her back from there myself!" Finally opening his eyes, he slowly lifted his gaze to you.

You both stood there, not moving an inch. It felt like time had stopped. Finally you managed to get your legs work, sprinting across the room to him- You jumped into his arms with such a force that it almost tackled him down. You squeezed him almost painfully hard, trying to make sure he really was there. Already sobbing, you lifted your gaze up to him.

"Axel..? Is it really you?" You whimpered.

"Actually, it's Lea now… But what the heck, you can call me whatever you want!" He smiled from ear to ear, holding you tightly in his embrace.

"How… What… Lea?" Trying to take it all in made you feel dizzy. Love of your life had basically came back from death- A little bit overwhelming, yes. "You mean…?" You stared at him confused, only now noticing that the markings under his eyes were gone. Otherwise he looked exactly same.

"Yeah, it's a long story. But it's still me, silly!" He grinned as he noticed you scanning him.

"I heard you call me." You smiled, wiping the tears from your cheeks.

"It worked?" Lea looked surprised. "Geez, the old man was right."

"Axel… I mean, Lea..?" You scowled up at him. "Don't you ever do that again."

"Do what?"

"Die on me, you asshat!"

"Can't promise, but I sure try to avoid that." He smirked. "10/10, would die for you again- Ouch!"

"This isn't a matter to joke about!" You yelped angrily after smacking his head with your fist.

"Double dose complex…"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Nothing!" Lea chanted, grabbing you tighter into his embrace he gave you a long, lingering kiss on your lips. "So… When do you want to try out a new me?"

"Try? Wha-" You didn't have a clue what he was talking about until you saw the mischievous grin on his face that made you blush. "...Seriously?"

"How about… now?" With a wink, he snatched you up in his arms just enough to lift you to sit on the edge of the desk. He was just about to press his lips against yours when a deep voice interrupted him.

"Youngsters… There is a time and place for everything, neither one of them is here or now." Yen Sid gave both of you a stern look.

Whole bunch was standing at the doorway, staring at you two. Feeling your cheeks turn bright red as Riku and Sora exchanged awkward looks, you returned your gaze up to the pyro who was holding you in his arms.

"How about if we get out of here?" He chuckled, apparently also little bit embarrassed.

"Sounds good." You smirked back at him.

"But..! There's still a lot for us to-" King Mickey flustered as Lea grabbed you up into his arms, slipping through the corridor of darkness he had opened.

"Don't worry, we'll be back! ...Eventually!" You managed to chant before portal closed.


End file.
